“Little Toddles.” That’s Jeff’s new nickname for Jia, along with “Boogie-Boo” because she is always dancing or boogying.

Says “Up” when she goes up the stairs and when she is standing up after a diaper change on the table, mimicking the word “diaper” pretty well, too.

Says “Shoes” uh oh, this could be a problem haha… Saying “Mei-Mei” is getting better. When she sees Mei Mei enter the room, she actually says her name.

She excitedly digs into her toy box and can spend a while just sifting through it.

Can feed her Chomp and Count Dino toy (can’t quite push the food far enough into his mouth to the point where he recognizes the food, but she understands where the Dino’s mouth is and tries to feed him)

Free stands for longer lengths of time while holding something, does this more frequently nowadays. If she doesn’t realize you’re not holding onto her she stands for a decent length of time.

Throws tantrums and pieces of food when she gets frustrated.

She’s VERY vocal, I love hearing her voice. She vocalizes all the time, especially when she reaches to try to get something, it’s like she’s talking her way through it. It’s so endearing, I love it.

Points meaningfully at items that she wants. For example, when she’s eating she points to her sip cup because she’s thirsty.

Loves pears(this is good, because even if she loved a bunch of vegetables, meat, and all sorts of fruit when it was pureed, if you’ve been keeping up with these WSDW posts, you’ll know that it’s a gamble on what she wants now), ZUCCHINI (I chopped into small pieces, put on the stove in a pan with olive oil, sprinkled with thyme and cinnamon… it worked. And it was better-received when it had been refrigerated!), and (de-skinned) mandarin oranges but *sigh* she may be tired of deli turkey! What now?! That was my old faithful backup meal that I knew she would take. Well that was a good three week run.

Her feet are ticklish! So cute watching her smile and pull back her feet when I tickle her. She’s especially ticklish in the bathtub haha!

Mom Thoughts:

I really completely 1000000%see why parents say, “I want them to stay little forever!” and “I can’t even remember when you were this little!” or “No, don’t do that, stay my little girl forever!” I’m having a hard time with Jia coming up on 1 year. This is hard for me, as I’m sure it is for all the moms out there! Sniffle, sniffle.

Continuing on this note, I watched Jia’s birth video the other night and I got so teary eyed. I had an unplanned C-section, so it wasn’t a graphic video like it could’ve been the au natural way, so what I am referring to is the video Jeff took with his phone, of Jia getting wiped down, weighed, and measured by the pediatric surgeons (they attend all unplanned sections at my hospital (VHC), just in case something happens). Her poor little head was so conical (we went through 24 hours of labor before our OB urged us to consider the section) from trying to come down, her little newborn cries, that long long skinny little baby! (She was 6 lbs 9 oz and 20.5″) Time has just flown and I can’t believe it’s been a year. The time flies faster when you’re older, they say. Well once you have kids, that is no joke. I see why moms keep having kids, it’s so sad to say goodbye to the infant months, I really will miss them as sleepless, spitup-filled, non-neck-supported as they were in the beginning.

I started to wonder, as Jia’s 1 year is approaching, what am I supposed to do for continuing nursing but then introducing cow’s milk into her diet, how to balance solid foods into her routine especially since she’s a more finicky eater now that she’s exclusively eating finger-foods (with the exception of yogurt), etc. Well, for you mamas who are wondering the same, here is what I found:

As long as your baby is breastfed/receiving breastmilk and nurses or drinks a bottle of the “good stuff” 3-4 times a day, you don’t need to fret about the amount of solids they are eating.

It’s common for toddlers to get pickier when they start finger foods. Additionally, keep in mind that solids are COMPLEMENTARY to a breastfed baby’s diet. They’re just exposures, as long as they are getting nourishment they need (re: vitamin D, iron, protein, and calcium) through their solid foods.

The variety is nothing to worry about, don’t get hung up on them passing over certain foods, and don’t push certain foods, and don’t try to coax them with a particular food.

Don’t worry about your baby missing out on certain nutrients through finicky eating, as long as they are still taking in breastmilk a few times a day. Breastmilk content adjusts to fill in nutritional gaps. Isn’t that cool? I remember learning all of this in Maternal & Infant Nutrition in my dietetics curriculum but it’s nice to keep reading it in various places.

Breastmilk is species-specific, so the bioavailability (the good stuff gets absorbed immediately and efficiently) of all its nutrients (fat, iron, protein) and contains benefits that cow’s milk will never have (immunological and emotional). This also means that the vitamins and minerals that are added to cow’s milk are far inferior compared to those in breastmilk. Again, human milk is made for little humans, so it’s the best way for your baby to receive these nutrients.

Breastmilk has a higher fat content than whole cow’s milk. This is a great thing. When your baby is receiving breastmilk, you don’t need to worry about your baby getting enough calories and calories through fat. Fat is important for our little baby’s brain development, don’t forget that!

After 1 year, I can start to feed solids first AND THEN nurse afterward. Before 1 year, it’s important to still nurse first so that baby gets their fill of milk and then feed solids a little while after, for the “extras.”

YOU DON’T HAVE TO INTRODUCE COW’S MILK ONCE YOUR BABY HITS 1 YEAR. If you do; however, mix increasing amounts of cow’s milk to breastmilk each day. Being too aggressive with introducing milk will put your baby at risk of iron deficiency anemia (cow’s milk can inhibit the absorption of iron, when taken in too large of amounts for a small baby’s body) and can upset their stomach leading to constipation, as well as a little kidney aggravation from having to filter and process the cow’s protein.

Once your baby breastfeeds less often, you’ll THEN have to make a greater effort into making sure your toddler’s diet is nutritionally complete.

For more, visit KellyMom for her article on Nutrition for Breastfeeding Toddlers.

I signed up for a Free Class at Little Gym, for Jia and me. It was a Tiny Tykes class for 7-13 month olds, and it was so fun! She got to watch other babies who are regulars at the class and watched their reactions to trying things. She had a really good time for the most part, just didn’t like the trampoline or the slides much (we didn’t bounce her much, just pushed on it a little). I really loved it, but at $79/mo only to attend 1 class a week and 1 ‘open gym’ time per week, I don’t see us joining it.

I thought I cooked a lot when I had a soy-free and diary-free restriction, then I thought I cooked a lot when I had the SFDF diet PLUS Jia’s purees to make, now I definitely feel like meal planning is always on the brain. Not only because we want to save some money, but also because I’m trying to consider foods she may like. In reference to the breastfeeding section above, I shouldn’t be obsessed with it, but like a normal mom, I guess I still am.

There was a 1-year old at JC Penney today who was walking really well and had ‘big girl shoes’ on, complete with thicker rubber soles on an adorable little mid-calf brown upper. I initially said “See Jia, you’re going to walk like her soon!” but then I quickly regretted it – it’s OK if she doesn’t learn to crawl for another few months. It means I get more time with her in my arms versus fighting to get stomping around!

And pictures!!

“I’m a hungry dinosaur, time to eat. Please feed me a healthy treat!”

This cheesy smile. Agh! Gets me every. Time.

She really just adores her early birthday present from Grand Grand Big Sungo & Auntie Irene!

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Written By Jeni, MPH MSN RN

Creator of Little Sproutings, Written by Jeni Taylor, MPH MSN RN.
I'm a nurse, public health advocate, and new mom living in Los Angeles, CA.
I created Little Sproutings to share my experiences as a mom and discuss relevant baby-health topics through well-researched posts to help parents (new, experienced, and expecting) learn the why and how.